OCEAN CITY – When JeriLyn Holston Andrews took on the role of senior warden a year ago at St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Ocean City, Pastor David Dingwall told her to “be aware of the pulse of the parish,” and listen to the concerns of her fellow parishioners.

But after an arsonist set a fire Nov. 26 that destroyed the rectory and took the life of the pastor, everything changed.

Parish members were sent reeling from the devastation. In the weeks that followed, they were floundering, wondering what could or should be done, she said.

Now, two months after the fire that took the life of 50-year-old Father Dingwall, St. Paul’s parishioners are finding ways to move their church family forward. At their annual parish meeting Sunday, they talked about the impact of the fire, of losing their pastor, and the response from the community.

Andrews didn’t want to focus on the negatives of that day — “we all know the details,” she said — but instead spoke of how the Ocean City community reached out to help, how parish attendance soared in the weeks following the fire, and how churchgoers have stepped up to help without having to be asked.

“Instead of waiting for someone to take the baton, we now have hands grabbing for it. Father David would be proud of all of you,” she said, fighting back tears. “This is the kind of congregation he wanted. Everyone working together with the same goal in mind, to feed people — body, soul and spirit. At this moment we are down, but I think we are coming back stronger than ever.”

Father Dingwall was overcome by smoke inhalation at the church, and passed away at Atlantic General Hospital, surrounded by his family and parishioners. A food pantry volunteer, Dana Truitt, 42, is now home in Ocean City recovering from her injuries after six weeks at a Baltimore burn ward. John Raymond Sterner, 56, the man who set himself on fire and walked into the rectory, died at the scene.

In the aftermath of losing their pastor and part of their church to fire, parishioners are as united as ever, said vestry member Karen Cramer, 69.

“No one can understand what we’ve gone through, and we all are handling our grief and the tragedy in different ways, but we also are helping one another,” she said. “We’re not going through it alone.”

In the meantime, there’s a new priest at St. Paul’s, at least for a little while. Father Mark Cyr led Sunday services for St. Paul’s after the fire. The bishop of the diocese has since personally asked Cyr to step in as priest-In-Charge, a temporary role. He’s been there since mid-January.

“It’s a great congregation,” Cyr said. “For having experienced such a devastating situation, they have really pulled together, and are continuing the ministry that they’re committed to. It’s not a huge parish, but they are large in spirit and dedication and desire. It’s a pleasure and an honor for me to be here.”

Donations from across the U.S. have poured into St. Paul’s since the fire, church officials said, totaling about $25,000 so far, including a $250 check from members of an Oregon church also destroyed by an arsonist in August. That money is being set aside in a separate fire restoration fund.

There’s still no telling how much it’s going to cost to fix everything that was lost to the fire, though an insurance claim will be submitted to cover the lion’s share, according to Bob Rothermel, a parishioner and de facto spokesman for the parish since the fire.

The 100-year-old wooden rectory has since been gutted, and the church is still in the process of drafting blueprints for renovation that will be submitted to municipal officials for approval. Cleanup efforts are still underway in the adjacent sanctuary to remove the smell of smoke, Rothermel said.

Church treasurer Sally Hales said they’ve already replaced a computer lost in the blaze, and have recaptured accounting records and hand-processed financial documents from just before the fire. Recovery of other financial records is also ongoing, she said.

The fire destroyed the basement of the rectory, home to the Shepherd’s Crook clothing distribution center and food pantry. Parishioner Kevin Ball has since let the food pantry set up shop at his Boardwalk eatery, Connor’s Beach Cafe, where food donations have been almost too much for them to handle.

The rectory remains boarded up, with a banner out front thanking first responders and the community for their help. Flowers and bouquets left behind in the days after the blaze, stuck into the chain-link fence protecting the fire-ravaged rectory, have long since withered and died.

The annual meeting was held in Dewees Hall, a community room named for a former pastor. It’s also where St. Paul’s now holds its Sunday service, setting up a makeshift altar on a long plastic folding table, with churchgoers seated on plastic folding chairs.

For this service, a makeshift altar is built upon a long, plastic folding table, and churchgoers are seated on plastic folding chairs. Afterward, the altar table was cleared for a slide projector showing photos of children playing in the Red Doors Community Center, an outreach ministry of the church. The pictures were projected onto a bed sheet hung over a room divider.

Diane Savage, a lifelong parishioner and Ocean City resident, said looking ahead, the spirit of the congregation remains high.

“We’re very blessed — grateful and blessed,” said Savage, 73. “Having grown up here, I know what the community is like. Whenever there is a tragedy, or a situation where people need help, the community rallies. And they have, again. It’s just been wonderful.”